Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

After the events of 11 September 2001 the Government set up an office of emergency planning to co-ordinate the work of various emergency services in preparing contingency plans. The office is chaired by the Minister for Defence and meets frequently to assist in that role. It oversees emergency planning generally to promote the best possible use of State resources and ensure compatibility between different emergency planning requirements. Any issues related to Sellafield are dealt with by the two relevant Departments, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. In so far as I raise the Sellafield issue on behalf of the Government, I have had ongoing meetings and correspondence and there has been liaison between senior officials and the British Government, which continues.

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